Officials from the towns of Cumberland, North Yarmouth and the two land trusts that manage the Knights Pond Preserve are suggesting ways to keep the public safe after a family dog was shot and killed by a hunter there last Friday.
Penny Asherman, Executive Director for the Chebeague and Cumberland Land Trust, said it's important for visitors to know about the hunting season which changes year to year.
"One of the things that we found with this incident is that not everybody's fully informed of hunting laws and and what the rules are in Maine. So one of the things that we're going to be working on is just improving our public education," Asherman said.
Asherman said there are also plans to keep blaze orange vests and dog collars at kiosks near parks for public use when walking in the preserve.
"We're going to be reminding visitors to our properties to stay on the marked trails, to wear blaze orange, to have blaze orange on your pets and keep them close or on leash during the hunting seasons," Asherman said.
She said trail users who are anxious about being in the same area as hunters can visit on Sundays, when hunting is prohibited, or find properties that do not allow hunting.
